Question

At the end of 60, Cicero declined Caesar’s invitation to join the political alliance of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey, the so-called First Triumvirate, which he considered unconstitutional.

Answer 1

Instead, Cicero decided to align himself with the Optimates, a conservative faction of the Roman Senate that opposed Caesar's increasing power and the erosion of the Roman Republic's institutions.

Despite his opposition to Caesar, Cicero remained a vocal critic of the violence and chaos that ensued in Rome during the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. He continued to advocate for a return to traditional Roman values and the restoration of the Republic, even as political power shifted towards Caesar.

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Cicero briefly aligned himself with the senatorial faction that sought to maintain control of Rome in the aftermath of Caesar's death. However, he was eventually caught in the power struggle between Mark Antony and Octavian (later known as Augustus), and his support for the wrong side led to his exile in 58 BC.

Cicero's exile was short-lived, as he was eventually pardoned and allowed to return to Rome in 57 BC. However, his political influence had waned, and he focused on writing and philosophy in his later years. Despite his efforts to preserve the Roman Republic, it ultimately fell to Augustus in 27 BC, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire. Cicero was executed on the orders of Antony in 43 BC, but his legacy as one of Rome's greatest orators and philosophers endured throughout the centuries.